Chapter 7: Our Heroes' Adventures Begin
Tuesday, October 27, 1897 The terrible storm from the night before had passed, & the sun was shining brightly over London once again, filling each nook & cranny of the city with its cheery warmth & light. In the West End, on the mouse street of Buckingham Palace Road (known to us humans by the same name), the Baker Street Family's van was driving down the sidewalk, with its occupants feeling as happy as they could ever be. Already, the incident from yesterday had been largely forgotten, & life had returned to normal for Basil & his loved ones. (It certainly helped that Basil had recovered from his injuries quite quickly, & was looking a lot better than he did after what happened the day before.) Once again, Basil was driving the van, with Hiram seated in the chair next to his; Dr. Dawson & Mrs. Judson occupied their usual spots in the middle row, & all of the Baker Street Kids were sitting together in the back of the vehicle. All rodents were dressed up in their outing clothes, & eagerly awaiting the adventures that lay ahead for them on this fine day! "So, Basil," Olivia asked, "what's the big surprise you have planned for us today?" "Yes," Cousin Samantha added, "we can't wait!" "Yeah!" Arden, Cousin Timmy, Cousin Tina, Cousin Ursula, Ratigan, & Fidget said in unison, wanting to find out more. Back in the front row of seats, Basil turned a bit to face his young charges while he was driving. "Well, there's two surprises, actually," Basil answered. Brimming with excitement & anticipation, the Baker Street Kids burst into wide smiles, & Olivia & Cousin Samantha gasped in delight. With one paw on the wheel, Basil somehow managed not to lose control of the vehicle or get into any accidents, as he continued with a broad smile, "I shan't give you any details about them...but I will say that one is for all of you children...& the second one is...well, I suppose I could say it's for all you children, but especially for Olivia." (Olivia & Cousin Samantha cooed in fascination when she heard this!) "And I think you'll all enjoy these surprises very, very much." With that, Basil went back to commandeering the van, humming a merry tune as he drove down the street. (CUE MUSIC: "Rule Britannia", as orchestrated by Sir Edward Elgar) Just a short distance away from our heroes, stood the grand estate of Buckingham Palace, where England's royalty lived & thrived. In the small mouse palace that was located within the walls of the same building, the royal bedchambers were currently occupied by none other than Her Imperial Majesty, Queen Mousetoria, & her two young maid-servants, Josie & Jenny Richardson. Back in the front row of seats, Basil turned a bit to face his young charges while he was driving. "Well, there's two surprises, actually," Basil answered. Brimming with excitement & anticipation, the Baker Street Kids burst into wide smiles, & Olivia gasped in delight. With one paw on the wheel, Basil somehow managed not to lose control of the vehicle or get into any accidents, as he continued with a broad smile, "I shan't give you any details about them...but I will say that one is for all of you children...& the second one is...well, I suppose I could say it's for all you children, but especially for Olivia." (Olivia cooed in fascination when she heard this!) "And I think you'll all enjoy these surprises very, very much." With that, Basil went back to commandeering the van, humming a merry tune as he drove down the street. (CUE MUSIC: "Rule Britannia", as orchestrated by Sir Edward Elgar) Just a short distance away from our heroes, stood the grand estate of Buckingham Palace, where England's royalty lived & thrived. In the small mouse palace that was located within the walls of the same building, the royal bedchambers were currently occupied by none other than Her Imperial Majesty, Queen Mousetoria, & her two young maid-servants, Josie & Jenny Richardson. Since we didn't describe her during her introduction, allow us to briefly elaborate on Queen Mousetoria's appearance to you. The monarch mouse was short for a woman her age, with a plump, portly figure. She had tan fur (with light-tan markings going all across her muzzle & underbelly), & her straight white hair was tied in a bun. A prominent chin, some signs of aging on her face, & wide, high cheekbones (curved at a slight angle) adorned her rounded head. Her slightly-prominent pink nose poked out from between two sweet violet eyes, & a small pair of pink ears flanked either side of her head. Small paws & feet topped off her stout arms & legs, & her short pink tail hid under her clothing. She was regally dressed in a dark-fuchsia fur "robe" with ermine cuffs & trimmings, a lavender silk dress, a rather long (& very frilly) pink cravat, a small dark-fuchsia crown (decorated with golden ornamentation & turquoise gems), a (very frilly) pink silk veil, & a pair of fuchsia high-heel shoes (along with pink linen petticoats & bluish-lavender bloomers). Meanwhile, Josie & Jenny were both of average height for mouse girls their age, with slim, slender figures. They had soft peach-colored fur & straight hair in ponytails (Josie's was yellow-blonde, while Jenny's was dyed fuchsia); their elliptical-shaped heads both had wide cheekbones that curved at an angle, small pink noses, bright blue eyes, & small pink ears. Their lean arms & legs ended in delicate paws & feet, & they had long, slender pink tails. Josie wore a fuchsia dress with a pink collar, waistband, & trimmings, as well as fuchsia high-heel shoes, & a fuchsia silk ribbon at the bottom of her ponytail; Jenny wore the same outfit, but in blue & turquoise. Queen Mousetoria was sitting in a plush fuchsia armchair, her bare feet propped up on a matching stool. Josie & Jenny were helping Her Majesty on with her shoes; alas, they struggled with said shoes, which were a little small, & were meant to fit quite snugly on her feet. Mousetoria leaned over a bit, & looked down at Josie & Jenny in concern, seeing that her servant girls were having trouble with the task of putting on her shoes. "Josie...Jenny...do you need some help?" Queen Mousetoria asked. Not making any noise, Josie gave Mousetoria's right shoe a hard push to try & put it onto her foot. A frustrated Josie angrily beat on the shoe three times with her fist in a vain attempt to push it on, then grunted as she continued to struggle with the shoe, straining & striving with each endeavor. When she looked up to see the Queen looking down at her, Josie suddenly stopped what she was doing. Trying to smile through her work-worn expression & act as though nothing was troubling her, Josie shook her head, & said, "Oh, no, Queen Mousetoria! Jenny & I are OK...really..." Still struggling to put on Mousetoria's left shoe, Jenny added in between grunts of effort, "But thanks so very much, Your Majesty. We really do appreciate...your offer...to assist us." However, even when they put on phony smiles & made their replies, Josie & Jenny didn't look like they could handle it. After watching her ladies-in-waiting keep struggling vainly to slip on her shoes, Queen Mousetoria was not convinced that the Richardson sisters didn't need her help. Taking pity on Josie & Jenny, Queen Mousetoria said with kindness in her voice, "Oh, don't put yourself through so much trouble, girls! I'd be happy to help you!" When Jenny tried to protest, Queen Mousetoria shook her head in an assuring manner, & implored encouragingly, "It's no problem at all, really! Trust me—I don't want you to do all the work!" In fact, Queen Mousetoria decided to help her handmaidens out by pushing her feet into the shoes. Once their task was successfully done, Josie & Jenny were happy to have finished that chore at last, but they also looked a little tired from the earlier effort. "Oh, you poor dears!" Queen Mousetoria said kindly when she saw the Richardson sisters' sorry state. "Would you care to rest for a few minutes?" "That would...be most...lovely," Josie replied, heaving for breath as she crawled away from Mousetoria with Jenny. "Yes...Thank you..." Jenny replied, following her sister. With that, the exhausted Josie & Jenny crawled onto Queen Mousetoria's bed, & flopped down onto the mattress, gasping for air. Mousetoria watched the girls for a couple of seconds to make sure they were all right, then got up onto her feet, & walked over to her vanity. As she did so, the monarch said to herself, "Well, while I'm here, I might as well get ready to greet my guests for the guided palace tour & luncheon that I hold every day at noon." Now seated at her vanity, Queen Mousetoria gave her face a quick powder, & then reached for a small case of lipstick. Just as she was about to put the coloring cosmetic on, Mousetoria was startled by a knocking on the door, causing her to accidentally smear her lipstick over her mouth. Turning to face the door, Queen Mousetoria said, "Just a moment." She took a piece of tissue paper from a box on the table, & wiped off the lipstick, before adding, "You may enter." The oaken double-doors to the royal bedchambers opened, & three of the Queen's guards (in full dress, but without bayonets) stepped in. As he appeared with his comrades, the first guard announced, "Your Majesty, today's guests for the daily tour & luncheon are here." (CUE MUSIC: The opening drums & strings intro for the overture to Giaochino Rossini's "The Thieving Magpie") Upon hearing this, Queen Mousetoria immediately got up from her vanity, & bustled through the room, nearly knocking over the guard-mice as she made her way out through the doors, & pranced merrily down the halls. All the while, she said happily, "Oh, goodie-goodie! My guests are here to see me!" Once Queen Mousetoria had departed, the guard-mice took a moment to regain their bearings, then turned to walk out the door, & follow Her Majesty. At this moment, Basil Of Baker Street & his loved ones had just arrived at Buckingham Palace, & they were now entering the throne room. When they opened the doors, they were delighted to see Queen Mousetoria herself sitting at the back of the lavish chamber, in the royal seating area. The queen was flanked by Josie & Jenny, & the three guards stood off to the side, keeping a vigilant watch over their ruler. When she saw Basil, Olivia, Arden, Hiram, Cousin Timmy, Cousin Tina, Cousin Ursula, Cousin Samantha, Dr. Dawson, & Mrs. Judson entering the throne room, Queen Mousetoria burst into a wide smile, & said happily, "Oh, Sir Holmesington! Dr. Dawson! Everyone, welcome! Welcome to Buckingham Palace!" Mousetoria promptly got out of her throne, made her way down the flight of steps in front of the royal seating area, & scurried across the floor to meet up with the others, with Josie, Jenny, & the three guards following close behind. Queen Mousetoria then proceeded to greet each of her guests individually, starting with Basil. Smiling at Basil as she shook his paw, Queen Mousetoria said cheerfully, "Oh, Basil, thank you so much for coming! It's wonderful to see you today." Then, turning to smile at Basil's assistant (& shake his paw), Mousetoria added, "And you, too, Dr. Dawson." Afterwards, Queen Mousetoria gasped, then fawned in heartfelt delight & adoration as she stooped down to Olivia & Arden's level to meet eye-to-eye with the mouseling. "Oh, hello!" Mousetoria greeted genially. "What adorable young ladies you are!" "Thank you, Your Majesty," the Flaversham sisters replied, flattered. Now, Queen Mousetoria was beginning to recognize her young visitors. "I think I remember you," the monarch said. "You're Olivia, right? The daughter of the toymaker in the Flaversham Case?" "Yes, I am," Olivia answered with a humble smile. "And I'm her older sister, Arden," Arden replied with a big grin on her face. "And you helped Sir Holmesington & Dr. Dawson rescue me from the assassination attempt on the night of my Diamond Jubilee, didn't you?" Queen Mousetoria asked. "Yes, I did, Your Majesty," Olivia replied with a nod, now radiating with an aura of pride about her. "How kind of you to notice." "Yes," answered Arden, "And I'm part of the Flaversham Case, too." "And you were with your family at the audience for Basil's knighting ceremony a few nights later?" Queen Mousetoria recalled, bursting into a wide smile as she fawned even more happily. "Oh, & you're that same little girl I talked with that evening at the reception!" Reaching out a paw to shake Olivia's hand, Mousetoria exclaimed ecstatically, "It really is a delightful treat to be in your company once again, Miss Flaversham!" Putting her arms behind her back, & posing coyly before her leader, Olivia burst into a wide smile of her own, as she said, "Thank you, Queen Mousetoria. It's wonderful to be seeing you again, too." "Oh, you're such a sweetheart, Olivia!" Queen Mousetoria gushed admiringly. The regal rodent then leaned forward to kiss Olivia on the cheek. The mouseling blushed a bright red, & giggled bashfully, coyly wringing the loose end of her scarf in her paws as she found herself unable to hide the sensation of happy, flattered little butterflies dancing in her tummy. Then, Mousetoria went over to Cousin Timmy, who was simply awestruck upon seeing the Queen standing less than a few inches in front of him. "Are you related to sweet little Miss Flaversham, by any chance?" Queen Mousetoria asked Timmy. Cousin Timmy tried to overcome his shyness. He gulped, then stuttered for a few seconds, before finally plucking up the courage to reply. Gradually becoming more confident in the presence of Queen Mousetoria, Timmy answered with a nod of his head, "Uh...um...Yeah! Yeah, I'm her cousin." (He extended his little paw out to shake the Queen's.) "Cousin Timmy Flaversham!" As she shook Cousin Timmy's paw, Queen Mousetoria smiled down at the mouseling, & said sweetly, "Well, I must say, it's a divine pleasure to make your acquaintance, young Mr. Flaversham." "Th-Thank you, Your Majesty," Cousin Timmy replied, gently pulling his paw away from Mousetoria, & letting it fall back at his side. The boy gave a little bow...& then, before he could stop himself, he suddenly found himself blurting out, "You're very pretty!" Cousin Timmy immediately covered his mouth with his paw, mortified by what he had just said. After all, this wasn't just any pretty girl on the street—this was Her Royal Highness, which automatically placed her on a pedestal above all other females in the United Mouse Kingdom! Much to Cousin Timmy's dismay, his verbal faux pas was counteracted with a tongue-lashing from his uncle. "Timothy Antonius Flaversham," Hiram scolded, "if I've told you once, I've told you a thousand times, don't make advances on women like that! Especially those who are royalty!" Category:Chapters Category:The Great Mouse Detective 2: A New Beginning Category:Stories